1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capillary pumped loop (CPL) system having a structure in which a refrigerant is circulated by capillary action.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the ongoing development of electronic technology has led to the miniaturization and increase of the output power of electronic equipment, a ratio of heat radiation per unit area in the electronic equipment has increased. Accordingly, performance of appropriately controlling heat generated from such electronic equipment has become an important factor which should be considered during design and operation.
To efficiently control heat, there has been proposed a CPL system having a structure in which a refrigerant is circulated by capillary action. Since the CPL system can perform heat exchange by circulating a refrigerant without a separate driving unit, the CPL system is recognized as being suitable to recently developed light weight miniaturized electronic equipment.
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a conventional CPL system. Referring to FIG. 1, an evaporator 2 for vaporizing a refrigerant by absorbing heat from the periphery is connected to a condenser 3 for condensing a refrigerant by radiating heat from a tube 1, thereby forming a circulatory path. The condenser 3 is a portion of the tube 1 and is a condensing region in which a refrigerant is condensed into a liquid. A porous body 2b is installed to be connected to the tube 1 within a case 2a to which heat is transmitted from the outside of the evaporator 2. A refrigerant 4 flowing into the evaporator 2 through the tube 1 is absorbed into pores of the porous body 2b by capillary action and sucked toward the outer perimeter. The refrigerant 4 then absorbs external heat transmitted through the case 2a and is vaporized. The vaporized refrigerant comes out of the evaporator 2 and moves to the condenser 3 through the tube 1. The vaporized refrigerant radiates enough heat to be liquefied in the condenser 3. Thereafter, the refrigerant in a liquid state moves through the tube 1 and flows into the evaporator 2.
However, while a refrigerant moves from the output port of the condenser 3 to the input port of the evaporator 2, bubbles 5 may be formed in the tube 1. The bubbles 5 hinder the progress of the refrigerant. Accordingly, it is preferable to reduce the bubbles 5, but the conventional CPL system does not have an expedient for reducing the bubbles 5. Therefore, a CPL system having an improved structure for solving the above problem is desired.